TripAdvisor® the world’s largest travel site*, today announced the winners of its Travellers’ Choice TM awards for Destinations. The sixth annual awards honour nearly 500 destinations including the winners for the top spots in the world, and individual lists for Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Asia, Canada, the U.K, the U.S and more.

Australia has much to celebrate, securing five of the top ten spots in the South Pacific list. Sydney is the star of the southern hemisphere, with the iconic harbour city taking top honours in the South Pacific (#1), in Australia (#1), and placing respectably in the World list (#22).

Melbourne and Brisbane placed #3 and #4 respectively in the South Pacific list, making it a clean sweep for the Australian Eastern Seaboard, while New Zealand’s Queenstown scooped #2 in the South Pacific, a stellar result for the resort town.

“If you’re looking for trip inspiration, look no further than the Travellers’ Choice Destinations,” said Barbara Messing, chief marketing officer for TripAdvisor. “Our global travellers are the tastemakers for uncovering the best places to visit around the world.”

Travellers’ Choice Destinations honour top travel spots worldwide based on the millions of valuable reviews and opinions from TripAdvisor travellers. Award winners were determined using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of reviews and ratings for hotels, attractions and restaurants in destinations worldwide, gathered over a 12-month period.

Minister for Tourism and Major Events, George Souris, said he was delighted with the news that Sydney had won TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards for the top Australian and South Pacific destination and the only Australian city to make the top 25 best destinations in the world.

“Sydney has so much to offer, from our golden beaches for surfing and world class dining and shopping, to the diverse, scenic regional areas such as the magnificent Blue Mountains and Hunter wineries. New South Wales is blessed with a range of natural wonders and urban attractions which entices 28.5 million international and domestic overnight visitors each year,” Mr. Souris continued.

Six of the top 25 world spots are from Asia and four Asian cities saw a climb of at least 10 places in the world top 25 list year-over-year. Beijing jumped 17 spots to #4 in the world, Hanoi is new to the list this year at #8, Siem Reap rose 14 spots to #9, and Shanghai climbed 12 places to #10.